Max Goldstein
Max Goldstein (1898–1924), also known as Coca, was a
anarchist
.
Born in
Imperial Russia at the time), returning with money and new instructions. He lost a hand, presumably while doing experiments with explosives, and replaced it with a hook, being known to the police as the "man with the hook".[1]
On 17 November 1920, Max Goldstein attempted to kill the
Minister of Internal Affairs, Constantin Argetoianu, who was Romania's most vocal anti-Communist politician. The attempt, however, failed: the bomb placed under Argetoianu's train coach destroyed the empty half of the coach.[1]
On 8 December 1920, Goldstein, with the support
Romanian Senate, killed Minister of Justice Dimitrie Greceanu and two senators (Demetriu Radu and Spirea Gheorghiu), and wounded the president of the Senate, Constantin Coandă.[1] The government alleged that their group did not act alone, and that it would have had among its accomplices Alecu Constantinescu, a leader of the left group of the Socialist Party, which in 1921 split and formed the Romanian Communist Party
(under the provisional name of Socialist-Communist Party).
The bombing was used by the Romanian government as an excuse to put into custody all known communists, who were implicated in the
conspiracy, and the matter of the Party's involvement is still unclear. During his stand on trial, Cristescu argued that Goldstein's actions were inspired by Anarchism more than anything else.[2]
Right after the December 1920 bombing, Goldstein fled to Bulgaria. In October 1921, he was arrested while trying to enter Romania from Ruse, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in 1924 in Doftana prison following a 32-day hunger strike.[1][3]
References
- ^ Jurnalul Naţional, 20 October 2004
- ^ Stelian Tănase, "Procesul din Dealul Spirii" Archived 2005-01-23 at the Wayback Machine ("The Dealul Spirii Trial"), Magazin Istoric, October 2003.
- ^ "The history of terrorism in Romania: Max Goldstein". Radio Romania International. 2010-02-15. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.